Vulcanizer



H. K. WHEELOCK VULCANIZER.

APPLICATxoN FILED Nov. so. 1917.

atente May E g H92@ 4 .11 Y am?? `hand appearance.

' Wit ma .ans raaireorariv '1 r ERT KWHEELOCK, or Los ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, AssIGNon, Bv* amena ASSIGNMENTS, T0 WESTERN VULCANIZER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, 0F

CHICAGO, TLLINOIIS, A COPARTNERSHIP CONSISTING OF WHEELOTCK, WALTER R. FONTAINE, AND FRANK A. WELLER.

HERBERT K.

VULCANIZER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

` Application filed November 30, 3.97. Serial No. 204,653.

To all whom it'"'may concern.'

Be it known that l, HERBERT K. WHEE- LooK, a citizen of the United States.. residing at 'Hollywood, Los Angeles, 1n thel county of Los Angeles and State of California, have linvented new and useful Improvements in Vulcanizers, of which the followingis a specification. p

" his invention relates to improvements in vulcanizers of the type designed for use in repairing pneumatic' tires, and resides in the provision of apparatus of this character which vis constructed and arranged so 'pas to prevent the formation of mold marks or .other objectionable irregularities at points on the tire Where the ends of the vulcanizer enfrage Wlth the tire.

am aware of certaln vulcanizers 1n which means'is provided to avoid the formation of objectionable marks upon the tire such as above outlined, but 1n the ma- Jority of vulcanizers the curing of a tire 1n the repairing or retreading thereof takes y place up to the extreme end's of the mold, and inasmuch as the tires are usually firmly clamped in the mold, the sharp edges of the mold form depressions or mold marks and render the finished tire unsightly7 in appearance, giving it an unmistakable secondl aim to overcome the above noted objections, and in carrying out my invention I provide separate endl portions for my mold, said end portions being of such material and so constructed that little or no heat from the mold is transmitted thereto and no vulcanizing or curing action is therefore had with relation to the tire about those portions thereof which are enfraged with said end portions.

matrix and prdvided with removable end portions alining ivith thematrix and having facial formations corresponding to those of the matrix so that a tire may be securely and evenly positioned Withimthe mold of the vulcanizer and be smoothly and neatly molded by said matrix throughout the entire portion thereof which is subjected to the molding action, this being accomplished by .roviding the non-vulcanizng portions faces or configurations corresponding to'those f' the matrix.

further obfect of the invention is to. prov-ide a vulcanizer having a removableA The invention further consists in the particular combmatwn, construction, association and mode of operation of the various Patenten Mayra, ieee. l

parts and elements of the apparatus such as r described in .the following specification, illustrated in the accompanying drawin and finally pointed out in `the 'appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a side elevation and partial. vertical longitudinal section ofthe vulcanizing mold constructed in accordance with f my invention showing a matrix Within the mold, and the end portions of the mold having faces of a formation corresponding to that of the-matrix, the matrix being adapted to form a zigzag tread;

F ig. 2 is atop plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. l showing one end of the mold broken away and in section, the matrix being of a different form as compared to that of the matrix shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 isa fragmentary vertical sectional view of a modied form of the invention in which the end portionsof the mold are in the form of hollow blocks;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional View of mother modified form of the invention; 21,11(

F ig. isa fragmentary sectional vicaT of receiving groove 3 and is otherwise ccnstructed` in accordance with the' general practice followed outl in the manufacture' of vulca'nizers. In carrying out my inven- -tion the end portions of this mold l are sectional and preferably consist of non-metallic blocks 4 formed With a tire receiving groove f 5 which is adapted to register with the groove 3. These blocks 4 arepreferably removably secured to the ends o the mold by bolts 6 having their heads countersunk in the upper ends of the blocks.

I may interpose between the blocks and ends of the molds insulation sheets 7 which l may be formed of asbestos or'some otherl Q inattesi heat insulating material.' These sheets 7 provide a further means for retarding the' transmission of heat from the moldto the blocks 4f thus preventing the vulcanizing ofthe tire'where it contacts with the blocks and also assisting to prevent the formation of "objectionable mold marks between the mold and the end blocks.

.In certain classes of repair work it is necessary to mold the repaired portion of the tire, with special configurations. In this event a matrix 8 is mounted within the mold throughout the entire length thereof and the face of this matrix is flush with the tire engaging faces of the blocks 4. This matrix 8 is removably disposed within the mold and the faces of the blocks 4 are formed with configurations 9 which correspond to those ofthe matrix 8.

In repairing or vulcanizing a new section of a tire with the apparatus hereinbefore described and illustrated in the drawing the tire is positioned in the ordinary manner within the mold and during the vulcanizing the matrix 8 will mold the new portion of the tread of the tire so as to correspond in vappearance with the remaining portion thereof already vulcanized. While the tire is being cured the tread thereof will engage in the configurations 9 of the blocks il and it will be seen that the tire will be uniformly molded as to its tread formation and will have the appearance more or less of a new tire rather than show mold marks such as would result from the use of the ordinary apparatus which would give the unmistak- -fable appearance of a' second-hand or re` paired tire. The blocks 4; preferably are constructed of wood, but may be otherwise formed of some suitable material which is not subject to the ready retention and transmiss-ion of heat. Whatever pressure is brought upon the tire so as to, cause the upper edges of the blocks to embed themselves into the rubber will not result, as is the case with the ordinary vulcanizer mold, in theformation of a depression or mold mark in the finished tire, since in the vulcanizer of my invention the blocks themselves prevent the vulcanization of these' portions of the tire, and any mark formed? by the upper edge of an end block is elimie nated when the tire is moved around in the mold for vu'icanization of the next section in the retreadingoperation.

It will be seen that I may readily remove the matrix and coperating end blocks and replace them with a matrix and blocks havin a. different design.

teferring particularly to Fig. 8 fr! the drawing, l0 designates as an entirety a vulcanizer mold of the same general formation and construction as that shown in Fig. 'l of the drawing, and ll designates the ond blocks or por ions of the mold. In this "lied form of end block.

form of the invention the end blocks instead of being solid as shown in Fig. l are hollow and may be Iconstructed of metal. These end blocks have interposed therebetween preferably, a sheet of insulating material l2 such as asbestos, and the tire engaging faces of this type of "block may have mold configurations 'i3 thereon so as to 4correspond with the doniqurations of the matrix ll within 'the molc However, in this form the tire engaging faces of the block may be smooth and likewise the mold is smooth when no matrix is used. rIhis block ll is removably held in place by bolts.

.Vith reference to Fig. 4 wherein I have illustrated another modified form of the invention, 16 designates a mold and 17 a modi- This block is removably secured to the mold and may have the asbestos sheet 18 interposed between itself and the mold if so desired. In this form of bloelrthe body thereof is of nonmetallic material 19 such as wood, and incased in a metal'casing 20. This casing Q0V Iis preferably made in the form of a casting having its lower side open but may be otherwise constructed if so desired. The open sido of the casing is that opposed to the end of the mold. In this form the transmission of heat from the mold is materially retarded by the asbestos"sheet 18 and the selection of materials. I

Referringparticularly to Fig. 5 wherein there is shown another modified form of the invention, 21 designates the mold, 22 a matrix withinthe mold, and 23 an end block which is hollow and preferably 4formed of metal. This block is also removably cured to the mold and is provided with `a cooling Huid inlet 24, anda cooling iiuid outlet 25, being in the sense a fluid cooling .mold end. I preferably use water in cooltivelvused if so desired.

With. reference to the foregoing description 'and'accompanying drawing, it will be seen that l have provided an improved vulranizer of a simple and inexpensive construction and which will permit of therepair of pneumatic tires, in a neat, expeditious and reliable manner.Y

The 'foregoing description and accompanying drawing relate to the preferred embodiments of the invention, and it is to be understood that various minor changes in details of construction, and as to the size` shape and proportions of parts of the machine, maybe resorted to when required, without departing from the true spirit and scope oi' the invention as defined..

I this application I claim my invention broadly as illustrated in all of the iigures nl'A the dra wing, and also the specific embodiments thereof` illustrated in Figs. 3 and 5. In my divisional application Serial No.

lili

359,085 gtiied February lo, i920 .i have claimed the specifici, embodiments iilustrated in ige. l, i? and Li ot tire present application@ Havingv thus disclosed my invention, I claim and desire to secure by `Letters Patent:

l. A vuleanizer eomprising a meid having a tire-receiving groove therein, removabie end portions for said mold having tirereeeiving grooves therein, and a matrix mounted within the groove of the mold and having its tire-engaging face iiush with the tire-engaging faces of the end portions, said end portions having their tire-engaging faces formed to correspond in configuration to that of the matrix.

2. Si vulcanizer comprising a mold having an arcuate tire-receiving groove provided with end portions constructed to retard the transmission of heat to `a tire mounted within the groove, and a matrix mounted within the groove, said end portions having tire-engaging :taees l'lusli with the tire-engaging face of theA matrix and of a toi-mation corresponding to that of the matrix.

3. vulcanizer comprising a mold having an arcuate tire-receiving groove in its upper face, a matrix removably mounted within the groove and formed with facial vonigurations. and extensions secured to the ends of the mold and having tire-receivinggr grooves alining` with the tire-receiving groove in the mold and provided with 'faciai ronligurations roniiormingr to those of the matrix.

Li. A vuicanizer comprisingr a mold having an arcuate tire-receiving groove in its upper face, a matrix removably mounted within the groove and *formed with facial configurations, and extensions secured to the ends ot the mold and having tire-receiving grooves alining with the tire-receiving groove in the mold and provided with facial ronigurations conforming to those ot the matrix and heat insulatingr material interposed between the ends ot the mold and tensions.

5. vuicanizer romprising a moid having;` a tire-receiving groove therein. hollow extensions carried at the ends of the mold and having tire-receiving grooves therein registering with the tire-receiving ifroove of the mold, and a matrix mounted within the tirereeeiving groove of the mold and being Hush upon its, outer tufee with the tire-receiving faces of the bioeks, the tire-receiving grooves in said blocks having facial Configurations corresponding to those or the matrix.

6. A vulcanizer comprising a mold formed with a tire receiving groove, a matrix fitte-d removabiy Within the groove, and a non-curing end portion carried by the mold and havinga tire engaging face which forms a continuation of the working face of the matrix.

7. A vuicanizer comprising a mold formed with a tire receiving groove, a inatriX i'itted removably within the said groove, and an end portion carried by 'the mol l and overhanging the end or the matrix, the overhang-ing portion-oit the end portion being formed with a tire engaging face which 1s a continuation or the working of the matrix.

8. ln a tire vnicanizer, the combination with a moid having a tire-receiving groove therein, oie. matrix having its tire-engaging surface eonormin f to the configuration or the surface of the tire to be repaired, and means for removably supporting seid matriX in the tire-receiving groove of the mold, whereby a matrix having a surface conforming to that of the partmuiar tire to be repaired may be inserted in the meid.

9. In a vuicanizer, the combination with a meid having a tire-receiving groove therein, of members secured to the ends oi'said mold to retard heet transmission from the mold to the tire, said members having tirereceiving grooves forming continuations or the tire-receiving groove of said mold, and heat insulating material interposed between the ends of the mold and the adjacent surfaces of the adjoining end members.

l0. in a tire vulcanizer, the combination with a mold having a tire-receiving groove therein, of members secured to the ends of said meid to retard heat transmission from the mold to the tire, said members having tire receiving grooves forming continuations of the tire receiving groove of the meid and having tire-engaging surfaces conforming in contour to the tire-engaging surface of said mold.

In testimony whcreotx have signed my name to this specification in the presenre ot' two subscribing witnesses.A

HERBERT K. VHEE 109K.

Witnesses L. A. ARNOLD, Cri/is. J. Cr-mw. 

